1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to hitches for towed vehicles, and more particularly to self-aligning hitches for towed vehicles.
2. Description of Related Art
It is a common challenge for drivers of vehicles which tow another vehicle, such as a boat trailer, utility trailer, or any other type of trailer, to experience difficulties in aligning the towing ball of the towing vehicle with the trailer hitch of the towed vehicle. This problem is lessened when there is a person who can stand within view of the driver of the towing vehicle and use hand signals to direct him to a position in which the towing ball is directly underneath the trailer hitch. Once thus aligned, the tongue of the trailer can be lowered until the trailer hitch descends onto the towing ball, and can be secured in place with a hitch latch. Since the trailer hitch is only slightly larger than the towing ball, this alignment must be relatively precise. This alignment problem is worse when there is no person to direct the backing and alignment of the trailer and the towing vehicle. In such a case, the driver uses side or rear view mirrors and gets the towing vehicle as close to the trailer hitch as possible. This may require many trips from the cab of the towing vehicle back to the trailer hitch to verify the position. If a trailer does not have much weight on its tongue, the driver can often pull the trailer tongue to one side or the other until it is over the towing ball. However, if a trailer hitch is too heavy to move, the towing vehicle must be moved back and forth until the alignment is correct.
A number of attempts have been made to deal with this problem. One way to deal with the problem has been to provide a trailer hitch which moves from side to side and in and out of the trailer tongue, in order to facilitate attachment. Once such a trailer hitch is dropped on to the towing ball, the towing vehicle pulls forward slightly to align the long axis of the trailer with the long axis of the towing vehicle, and then the towing vehicle can move in a reverse direction and push the extendable tongue back into the trailer tongue. Once this is accomplished, the extendable trailer hitch can be locked in place, and the towing vehicle can drive off with the trailer. The problem with this method is that the towing vehicle is utilized to push the extendable hitch back into the trailer tongue. When this occurs, the entire trailer may move backward rather than remain stationary. The user would have to block in back of the trailer wheels so that the trailer would not tend to move backward during this backing-up procedure, due to the friction of steel sliding against steel as the tongue slides back. This would also necessitate carrying blocks for this purpose, and having to stow them somewhere, or else finding rocks or something else with which to block the trailer wheels. The trailer hitch of the invention thus necessitates getting out of a towing vehicle only one time, versus two, three, or more times for the self-aligning trailer hitches of other inventions. Additionally, if the extendable trailer hitch is jointed, the entire weight of the trailer will be placed on the joint. This limits the amount of weight that such a system can accommodate, or it may lead to the premature failure of the joint.
What is needed, then, is a trailer hitch which allows the connection of the towing vehicle to a towed vehicle if the two are merely in approximate alignment. This needs to be done so that the extendable hitch is strong enough to support the weight of the trailer in its extended position. The extendable hitch needs to be adjustable both side to side as well as up in order to connect to the towing ball. Additionally, the extendable trailer hitch needs to be drawn back into the trailer tongue without the need for pushing in reverse by the towing vehicle. Preferably, the towing vehicle would remain stationary while the extendable hitch is retracted into the trailer tongue and secured in place for highway travel.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a self-aligning trailer hitch which extends from a trailer tongue, and moves laterally as well as vertically.
Another object of the invention is to provide a self-aligning trailer hitch with an extendable hitch which does not contain joints as the mechanism for allowing it to move laterally, as well as vertically.
A further object of the invention is to provide a self-aligning trailer hitch which can be extended to connect to a towing ball, and retrieved back into the trailer tongue without the need for pushing it in by the reverse movement of the towing vehicle.
It is a further object of the invention to retract the extendible trailer hitch by the use of a winch, which pulls the extendable trailer hitch into a secure and lockable configuration for towing.
Another object of the invention is to provide a self-aligning trailer hitch which can be completely removed from the trailer on which it is mounted.
Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description as follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.